So I have been looking at some portrait photography websites, I am working on improving my portrait work and have entered two side challenges dealing with portrait work.

What I am noticing in the ones I really like is that the pupils of the subjects are very large. This doesn't make sense to me because if you have good lighting it seems the pupils would be small. The pupil are almost always smaller than what I would like when I take portraits.

So the question basically is how do you keep the pupils large on your subject, and have a good light source at the same time?

ETA: here is a good example from timfythetoo of what I mean. Obviously a good light source but look how large their pupils are:

So I have been looking at some portrait photography websites, I am working on improving my portrait work and have entered two side challenges dealing with portrait work.

What I am noticing in the ones I really like is that the pupils of the subjects are very large. This doesn't make sense to me because if you have good lighting it seems the pupils would be small. The pupil are almost always smaller than what I would like when I take portraits.

So the question basically is how do you keep the pupils large on your subject, and have a good light source at the same time?

It's strobes, Jen. The modeling lights are dim, the ambient light is very low, and the pupils don't have a chance to react in the instant of strobe. If you are photographing portraits with continuous lighting, like floodlights, the pupils are gonna be small.

Ought to, yes. It's all about low ambient light pre-exposure. So much so that if you have really bright modelling lights to set the lighting, you should dim them or turn them off altogether before making the actual exposures.

R.

ETA: you know the dreaded "red-eye" effect when flash is on axis with the lens? And how the red-eye reduction feature emits a bunch of tiny pre-flashes? That's to get the pupils to shrink so the blood vessels aren't reflecting back red... Not that that's professionallighting or anything, just an interesting sidebar on how that works...

In my studio I don't have any modeling lights so the only light is from the canned lights in the ceiling which are on a dimmer. I usually have them down pretty low so I don't have competing light for my speedlights. Low initial light gives me good pupils. And like what was said previous, the pupils don't get a chance to react to the strobes.

You could go back to the technique used by portrait painters of yore and apply drops containing belladona alkaloids ... ;-)

If you can't dim the ambient lighting you can also try having the models close their eyes for several (10-20) seconds while you pre-focus, and then have them open their eyes just before you fire the shutter (I'd use something like a 3-2-1 countdown to coordinate the action).

You could go back to the technique used by portrait painters of yore and apply drops containing belladona alkaloids ... ;-)

Ha ha! actually this link reminded me of a funny story. My brother in law was using the motion sickness patch before a big fishing trip with my husband and didn't read the directions and rubbed one of his eyes before washing them and ended up with one pupil really dilated. He ended up being sick because of the imalance of light coming in his eyes.

Thanks, Timfythetoo I always admire your portrait work. Its nice to know it can be achieved with speedlights. Now if I can only do it. I'm going to give it a shot, I'm not expecting perfect results but, you have to start somewhere right!?

Good thread! I hadn't really thought about this, but it makes complete sense once you hear the trick. Just yesterday I was wondering about scenarios where strobes are more useful than continuous lighting.

get everyone standing in front of the class, small pupils in front, large pupils behind. have the principal standing at door so everyone is stiff scared to run around. zoom out so all pupils, big and small, are in frame and say cheese :)